Trustees

Geoffrey Crossick

Geoffrey Crossick's previous roles include Vice-Chancellor of the University of London, Warden of Goldsmiths, Chief Executive of the former Arts & Humanities Research Board, and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Academic Development) and Professor of History at the University of Essex. In addition to being Director of the AHRC Cultural Value Project, he is Distinguished Professor of the Humanities in the School of Advanced Study, University of London.

He is a social historian of 19th- and 20th-century Britain and continental Europe, including the world of small enterprise, which adds a historical dimension to his interest in contemporary crafts. He speaks nationally and internationally on the importance of the arts and humanities and on the creative economy. He sits on the governing boards of the Courtauld Institute and Horniman Museum, is a trustee of the Goldsmiths Centre, and is Chair of the Board of the Arts & Humanities Research Institute at Trinity College Dublin.

Professor Bruce Brown

Chair, Finance and Business Committee, Crafts Council. Pro-Vice-Chancellor Research at the University of Brighton

Professor Bruce Brown is Pro-Vice-Chancellor Research at the University of Brighton where he is Professor of Design. He is currently Chair of one of the main panels for the UK Research Excellence Framework and editor of Design Issues Research Journal.

Brigid Rentoul

Brigid started her career as an in-house lawyer for The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and then became a corporate finance lawyer in private practice, both in the US and the UK. Brigid was a partner in the Corporate Department at Linklaters for fifteen years, managing Linklaters’ relationship with key global clients including acting as external counsel to the Tate. Brigid is also a governor at Channing School.

Maria Amidu

Maker Trustee, Artist

Maria Amidu is a visual artist and producer of social projects. She studied glass at West Surrey College of Art & Design (now the University for the Creative Arts) and completed her MA in Glass and Ceramics at the Royal College of Art. She has developed work with several organisations including the Houses of Parliament, National Maritime Museum, Turner Contemporary, People United and PEER. She is also a programmer and writer for learning and developed the Autograph ABP Archive Learning Resource and the National Maritime Museum’s Citizen Resource. Maria is currently developing a new research project about useful art, collective making and materiality following her Winston Churchill Fellowship to the Netherlands and USA in 2014.

Jo Bloxham

Trustee. Curator

Jo Bloxham was originally a jewellery maker who, during her MA at Birmingham School of Jewellery, shifted her practice into curating. Since 2005 Jo has curated exhibitions of contemporary jewellery, which have had exposure in UK and France, as well as San Francisco, Barcelona and Munich.
Jo is also a passionate collector of art and craft, and has a large collection of jewellery by makers from UK and abroad.
Jo is a trustee of Manchester Art Gallery and a patron of The Tate Liverpool. She is a board member of the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair (GNCCF), which she helped to set up and is an annual event held in Manchester.

Matt Durran

Maker Trustee. Artist and Curator

Matt Durran is an artist and curator who works on large-scale installations and sculptural pieces and has run his own art practice for over 25 years. He studied glass at Sunderland and in Copenhagen and has represented the UK at over 30 international glass symposiums. His explorations have taken him from ancient lava-formed obsidian to stockpiled waste glass and the frontiers of new technologies. They’ve found him devising collaborative solutions to energy sustainability and the up-cycling of waste materials. They’ve led him inwards through medical research to the internal architecture of the human body and outwards to the built environment we live in. His practice strives to balance aesthetics with emerging technologies. He stresses the importance of making his own work, pushing forward with new materials his own artistic expression, of making beautiful, compelling and inspiring pieces.

Michael Eden

Maker Trustee. Ceramist

Maker Trustee Michael Eden worked as a traditional potter before an MPhil significantly changed the direction of his practice. His current work brings together traditional ceramic craft skills and digital technology, including 3D printing, additive layer manufacturing and non-fired ceramic materials. His work has been acquired by a number of institutions including the Crafts Council, the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, U.S.A and he has featured in Crafts Council exhibitions including Lab Craft and Power of Making. In addition, Michael is a MIRIAD Digital Research Fellow at Manchester School of Art, part of Manchester Metropolitan University.

Dr Zoe Laughlin

Trustee. Creative Director of the Institute of Making

Dr Zoe Laughlin is the co-founder and Creative Director of the Institute of Making, University College London. She is also the co-founder and Curator of the Materials Library project and has lectured and published widely on making and materials.

Andy Marshall

Trustee. Group Managing Director, Immediate Media Co.

Andy Marshall is a senior publishing professional with nearly 30 years media experience and is group managing director at Immediate Media Co: a fast growing and highly successful media business which owns many market leading brands including Radio Times, Mollie Makes, hitched.co.uk and Jewellery Maker TV. He was the co-founder and managing director of Origin Publishing (now part of Immediate Media Co) and previous roles include head of marketing at Future Publishing and head of business development at The European Newspaper. Andy has also acted as an advisor to Plymouth University at the launch of its MA in Publishing.

Beverley Rider

Trustee. Architectural Interior Designer

Beverley Rider trained at The Inchbald School of Design and runs her own design practice based in London’s Mayfair, working primarily on high-end residential projects. She was previously a contributing editor and columnist at The Wall St Journal’s WSJ magazine and is currently a mentor on the Walpole Group’s Crafted programme. Her earlier career was in human resources, latterly as a Vice President at JP Morgan where she worked in both London and New York. Beverley is a passionate and committed patron and collector of contemporary art, craft and design.

Clare Twomey

Maker Trustee. Artist, Curator and Research Fellow at the University of Westminster

Clare Twomey is an artist, curator and Research Fellow at the University of Westminster. She studied Ceramics at Edinburgh College of Art completing an MA in Ceramics and Glass at the Royal College of Art, London. She uses performance, serial production and site-specific installations in her exploration of clay.